On Wednesday, May 20, when Detroit-bound Air France Flight 378 approached Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) denied it permission to land and redirected it to Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) in Canada. Their single error? They allowed a citizen of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo) to board the flight amidst a travel restriction from the U.S.

The World Health Organization (WHO) advised that countries avoid closing their borders for international travel and trade on Ebola-infected regions and supported the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) insistence that international air travel was safe. Nevertheless, on May 17, the WHO declared a state of emergency on a new strain of the Ebola virus found in the eastern provinces of Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan. Eventually, the outbreak had spread to four provinces in Congo, resulting in ~ 900 suspected cases and ~ 220 suspected deaths.

On May 18, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an order pursuant to Sections 362 and 365 of the Public Health Services Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 265, 268) and its subsequent federal regulation (42 C.F.R. § 71.40), requiring foreign nationals who were present in the three countries to self-quarantine for at least twenty-one days outside of them before re-entering the U.S.  At the time, U.S. citizens and permanent residents re-entering the country had their flights rerouted to Washington-Dulles (IAD), Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL), or New York John F. Kennedy (JFK) airports for health screenings. This order remained in effect for thirty days, and since June 18, it was repeatedly extended until, eventually, citizens could not enter before spending the twenty-one days in a third country, after an American contracted the virus in Congo and received treatment in Germany.

On June 9, Washington urged European Union (EU) members to adopt similar measures to prevent the spread of the virus. After an initial visa restriction imposed a month prior on foreign nationals, Canada issued an updated order on July 19, restricting travel for non-citizens from Congo. In the EU, the member-states resisted these restrictions, citing the risk of the importation of the virus being low.

The effect was profound on commercial flights from the Congo as millions prepared to travel for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Foreign officials had expressed outrage over the Congo team’s refusal into the U.S. and quarantine in Belgium after their visas were already issued. While the team eventually finished their quarantine and landed in Houston, the travel restrictions halted the Congolese government’s plans to bring in more fans for the matches.

As of September 20, the Ebola outbreak continues in Congo, with 7,672 documented cases and 3,699 deaths. Four countries have imposed temporary restrictions on travel, while four others require screenings upon entry. The EU remains without restrictions, and Air France’s parent company, KLM, has cancelled flights circulating in central Africa. As the restrictions persist worldwide, international travel from Congo remains uncertain.

Written By: Helene Obonga Tongunga

Sources

1.     Amelia Nierenberg, U.S.-Bound Flight Diverted to Canada Because of Ebola Restrictions, The New York Times (May 21, 2026), https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/21/world/africa/air-france-ebola-flight.html (last visited Sep. 23, 2026).

2.     Joe Kottke & Alex Lo, Detroit-bound flight diverted to Canada after Congolese passenger boarded ‘in error’ amid Ebola outbreak, NBC News (May 21, 2026), https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/detroit-bound-flight-diverted-canada-passenger-congo-error-ebola-rcna346245 (last visited Sep. 23, 2026).

3.     International airlines urged to stick to safety measures in wake of Ebola outbreak, United Nations | UN News (May 26, 2026), https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/05/1167587 (last visited Sep. 23, 2026).

4.     Order Suspending the Right to Introduce Certain Persons from Countries Where a Quarantinable Communicable Disease Exists, 91 Fed. Reg. 29961 (May 18, 2026).

5.     Additional Consular Information for Americans Regarding the Ebola Outbreak, U.S. Dep’t of State | Travel.State.Gov (Sep. 11, 2026), https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/travel-advisories/global-events/ebola_additional_information.html (last visited Sep. 23, 2026).

6.     Countries tighten travel rules as Ebola risk rises, Reuters (July 14, 2026), https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/countries-tighten-travel-rules-ebola-risk-rises-2026-05-27/ (last visited Sep. 23, 2026).

7.     Trevor Hunnicutt, US to block citizens in Congo from immediate travel home, citing Ebola, Reuters (July 14, 2026), https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-block-citizens-congo-immediate-travel-home-citing-ebola-2026-07-14/ (last visited Sep. 23, 2026).

8.     Ruben Nyanguila, DRC minister says US Ebola rules are disrupting its World Cup return, Semafor (June 12, 2026), https://www.semafor.com/article/06/12/2026/drc-minister-us-ebola-travel-rules-disrupt-world-cup-return (last visited Sep. 23, 2026).

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10.  Chinedu Okafor, Canada singles out one African country to impose a more decisive action and implement a new visa restriction on, Business Insider Africa (July 24, 2026), https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifestyle/canada-singles-out-one-african-country-to-impose-a-more-decisive-action-and-implement/db6f15f (last visited Sep. 23, 2026).